LNG chain
Gas chilled to minus 162 C to ship by sea, then warmed back into gas.
Transport · Liquid and gaseous fuels · No. 58
- Transport
- Form: Gaseous fuel
Chilled to minus 162 C, natural gas shrinks about 600 times, small enough to cross oceans in insulated tankers.
Chart: Illustration: LNG chain
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Gas is cleaned, then refrigerant loops of propane, mixed refrigerants or nitrogen pull out heat until it condenses at about minus 162 C, shrinking about 600 times.
Three things to know
- A carrier loses about 0.07-0.15% of its cargo a day to boil-off, and most of that is burned as ship fuel.
- Import terminals ran at only 38.6% of capacity on average in 2024, much of it kept in reserve for security.
- Hammerfest in Norway has liquefied gas using all-electric drives since 2007, avoiding on-site combustion.
The journey
- 1 Feed gasCleaned of CO2, water, sulphur, mercury
- 2 LiquefactionRefrigerant loops chill it to minus 162 C
- 3 StorageInsulated double-walled tanks at port
- 4 CarrierShips of 135,000 m³ or more
- 5 RegasificationSeawater or burners warm it into gas